Sermons Illustrations for Proper 13 | OT 18 (2016)
Illustration
Object:
Hosea 11:1-11
The picture in the scrapbook tells the story -- the parents in the picture, not much more than kids themselves, holding the hands of their little girl as she learns to walk. Though the picture is old, the memories are fresh. There was such joy and excitement. These were her first steps! Who knew the places she would go and the things she would see? The future was bright. They had big dreams for their child.
Dreams, though, can go bad. Those little hands that held on tight now pushed away. Those eyes that were so trusting now radiated anger. The little feet that took such timid first steps now hurriedly ran as fast and as far away as they could possibly go. “Rebellion,” “lost,” “not coming back” were the words that replaced “love,” “forever,” and “family.” Hearts that were once so hopeful now lay broken on the living room floor.
This kind of thing happens far too often. It’s hard to describe what the parents feel. Hurt, sadness, pain; these only begin to scratch the surface. There is a yearning for the lost one to come home.
God understands what it’s like when a child rebels and exchanges what matters for what looks or feels good. His child, Ephraim or Israel, has chosen to turn away from him. They are suffering the consequences of that choice and are hurting. Though they deserve what they are getting, God’s heart is touched. As a parent with a wayward child, God’s compassion grows warm and tender. He will not leave them to their folly. He will return them to their homes. That’s a nice picture, too, isn’t it?
Bill T.
Hosea 11:1-11
In my family of origin, anger was a forbidden emotion for children. It was okay for my dad and sometimes even okay for my mother, but the children in my family were taught that expressing anger was a bad thing. I didn’t recognize my lack of expressing anger until I was much older. Feeling anger made me cry. I would acknowledge disappointment, but not anger. Then I attended clinical pastoral education and discovered some unexpressed tension and anger in my family’s relationships. As I developed the ability to be more expressive, I took some courses on emotional intelligence. During one activity the group and its facilitators placed me in the center of a circle of people and made me stomp my feet and yell out my anger. It was a breakthrough for me. I learned that anger was an emotion, and acknowledging the anger and the feeling was important.
Luckily, God knows a lot about anger and a lot about mercy and forgiveness. For human beings this is a wonder. Sometimes we hold onto our anger, even if we express it. We hold grudges and break apart relationships with our anger. Yet God, who has every right to be angry with us, acts with steadfast love, compassion, and mercy. Maybe now that I have learned to acknowledge anger and the pain it causes, I can learn the mercy and forgiveness that God offers to me and in turn offer it to others. What about you?
Bonnie B.
Hosea 11:1-11
In this passage God, through the prophet, acknowledges that the story that began with the people called out of Egypt has not gone well. God has a just case against the people. But they are his people, and in the end his love trumps his justice! So to that end, in the final two verses of this passage God, roaring like a lion and inspiring both fear and obedience, will lead the people homeward on a second Exodus! One calls to mind The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S Lewis, in which God is seen as a lion who, the children are reminded constantly, is not tame. The fear and trembling in these verses might be a good place to start, because God’s power (not weakness) is demonstrated in this triumph of love.
Frank R.
Hosea 11:1-11
A good friend and fellow missionary has a daughter who he and his wife trained to know the Lord -- but when she became 18, she fell in love with a Muslim fellow and they married. She turned Muslim, and it devastated her folks! They did not give up, and they still love her. The only comforting thing for them is that she says she still believes in Jesus! They let her know that they still love her and that they will help her in any way they can, hoping that someday she will realize what they are doing for her and what she has given up and will turn again to the true faith.
She knows that those of her new faith are losing the war against them, so her mind is opening up -- but she is having trouble converting her husband. He has been taught that the husband is in charge. She is learning what it means to be a Muslim, and what she is supposed to give up. She studied to be a nurse and her husband had no trouble with her working in our country, but if they moved back to a Muslim country, she might find out what (like her career) she must sacrifice for this faith.
It is so frequent a problem that everyone with teenage children feels it -- those kids want to be free to do as they please.
As Abraham was lifting the knife to sacrifice Isaac, he turned to the Lord and asked, “Can’t I have my son for at least one more year?” God asks Abe, “How old is he?” When Abraham says that he is only 12, the Lord answers, “No! Next year he will be a teenager and it won’t be a sacrifice!” I can resonate with that! My wife and I have seven children. All of them have recovered from their teens. One son was an alcoholic for a while, but he has been off booze for over 10 years now and has a job helping other young people recover and give up their liquid idol.
At one point in most of our lives we have had the idols of money, girl or boy partners, fame, success, etc. As long as they don’t keep us from the most important love: the one of our Savior. If for no other reason, we give ourselves to him if we don’t want to hear God roaring like a lion to wake us up!
Bob O.
Colossians 3:1-11
Facebook provides a wonderful opportunity to stay in touch with friends and family. One of the side benefits is that it can also provide unexpected sermon illustrations.
For instance, a few weeks after the mass shooting of innocent people in Paris there was a mass killing in the United States. In both incidents the perpetrators were Muslims. In the aftermath of the killings in America, the president of a large private Christian university encouraged the school’s student body to arm themselves. He said he had always thought that more good people with concealed-carry permits could stop Muslims before they killed. Being shot by young adult Christians, he suggested, would teach them a lesson.
A self-identified evangelical Christian and Facebook friend immediately posted his agreement with this strategy. He argued that Christians needed to be ready to respond forcefully to Muslims. His understanding of the Christian faith not only permits but encourages responding to threats with violence. That is the way the world works.
This friend from high school is, of course, correct. That is the way this world works. It is not, however, the way Christians are called to live in this world. This Colossians passage is very clear that this world’s ways of thinking and doing run contrary to the life we are to live in Christ Jesus. By faith we are to see things differently. We are to conduct our lives differently, and thus we will experience life differently.
In our context, it is good to remember that Christians are called to address fear by faith, not by violent revenge.
R. Robert C.
Colossians 3:1-11
Chris Froome won his second Tour de France in 2015 -- and for his victory he got to wear the coveted yellow jersey. But he could not have won without the support of the fellow members of his riding team. On their final victory lap in Paris, Froome had his teammates wear yellow stripes on their shorts and helmets to show that they were as much a part of the victory as he was. Froome said to his teammates, “This is your yellow jersey as much as it is mine.”
Application: We read in Colossians of a church that is inclusive of all people. All in the church are teammates.
Ron L.
Colossians 3:1-11
A 2008 poll by LifeWay Research indicated that 72% of Americans believe that the Church is full of hypocrites. Little has likely changed since the time of that poll.
Paul says our lives as Christians are hidden. Martin Luther once explained what this means: “The world does not understand the Christian life and has no word of praise for it; it is hostile to the faith and cannot tolerate the fact that you believe in Christ and refuse to join hands with it in love for worldly lusts. A hidden life indeed is the Christian’s” (Complete Sermons, Vol. 4/1, pp. 227-228).
Our lives are hidden in another sense, for we continue in sin and so our holiness is not apparent: “Outwardly Christians stumble and fall from time to time. Only weakness and shame appear on the surface, revealing that Christians are sinners who do that which displeases the world. Then they are regarded as fools, as Cinderellas, as footmats for the world, as damned, impotent, and worthless people. But this does not matter. In their weakness, sin, folly, and frailty there abides inwardly and secretly a force and power unrecognizable by the world and hidden from its view, but on which for all that carries off the victory; for Christ resides in them and manifests himself to them” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 23, p. 146).
We Christians need not feel so bad about our sin -- we just should come clean about our hypocrisy, and actually celebrate “that God does not save imaginary, but real sinners” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 31, p. 63). Twentieth-century American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr reflected on why this awareness is Good News: “This means don’t be so morbid about the fact that you’re selfish; don’t deny that you are self-regarding, but work in life and hope that by grace -- this perhaps is the door to the real answer -- you will be redeemed by grace” (Justice and Mercy, p. 43).
Mark E.
Luke 12:13-21
I am a fan of the old Twilight Zone television series. Around New Year’s Eve every year, one of the cable channels runs a Twilight Zone marathon, showing every episode of the series. While I find most of them intriguing and thoughtful, a particular episode came to mind while reading this text. It’s called “The Rip Van Winkle Caper.”
In this episode four men rob a train carrying gold bars from Fort Knox to Los Angeles. One of them, a scientist, has developed a plan for them to get away with the robbery and enjoy all the gold. He has created four suspension chambers, in which these robbers can sleep for 100 years and then awaken long after their crime. The plan seems to work. After 100 years the chambers cause them to awaken. One of them, though, is nothing more than a skeleton -- his chamber was punctured by a falling rock, and he aged and died. The other three, though, are fine. As they begin to work together to move the gold, greed sets in. One attacks another, until finally there is only one left. He is clutching what he can carry of the gold in a bag. He longs for water and is nearly dead of dehydration and thirst. He continues to a highway, lugging the gold that he refuses to abandon. Finally, weak and dehydrated, he collapses. When a man in a futuristic car drives up, the remaining robber offers his last gold bar in exchange for water and a ride to the nearest town -- but he dies a few moments later.
As the driver gets back into his car to report the death to the police, he quizzically remarks to his wife, “Can you imagine that? He offered this to me as if it was really worth something.” The wife vaguely recalls that gold had indeed been valuable at some time in the distant past. The husband replies, “Sure, about a hundred years or so ago, before they found a way of manufacturing it,” and tosses the gold bar away.
Sometimes that which seems so valuable really has very little value at all. The man in the Twilight Zone episode and the rich man in Jesus’ parable learned that truth. Sadly, for both it was a lesson learned a bit too late. What do you value? Does it have eternal significance?
Bill T.
Luke 12:13-21
The longer I live and experience the world, the more I believe that greed is the root of most sin. As human beings we seem to always want more -- at least in our Western culture. We hoard belongings, we compile lists of things we want, we shop more than is healthy. We want more from our lives, so we break relationships in order to pursue others. We seek success at any cost, for with success comes fame and recognition. Years ago there was a monologue from comedian George Carlin that focused on “stuff.” He said that we had a lot of stuff, and still we bought more stuff -- so much in fact that we had to buy stuff in which to store our stuff. Then we had so many containers of stuff that we rented storage facilities so we could store our stuff, and then go out and get more stuff to replace it. I don’t know about you, but this can seem all too familiar.
Jesus tells a parable in this reading from Luke describing someone successful who had an overabundant harvest, a harvest so large that it wouldn’t fit in the storage he had. And the solution was not to share the abundance but to tear down his barns and build bigger ones. Little did the man know that his life would end that night and that the stores would go to someone else. Greed is never wise. Sharing the abundance which God provides is the better approach. Maybe we should spend some time getting rid of the excess in our closets, in our homes, and even in our souls. Focusing on God is a good thing. Let’s replace object hoarding with a strong spiritual relationship.
Bonnie B.
Luke 12:13-21
This passage begins with a demand by a stranger that Jesus arbitrate between two brothers regarding their inheritance. This might seem unreasonable at first, yet in the ancient world people willingly bypassed the courts and called upon a trusted third party to settle their disputes.
This is illustrated in the fragments of a comedy, The Arbitrants, written by Menander three centuries before. (Menander is the writer quoted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:33 -- “Bad company ruins good morals.”)
In the play a slave and a cook are arguing about who owns some valuable tokens that belonged to an abandoned baby left to die on a hillside -- the one who found the baby or the one who incurs expenses because he adopted the baby to raise as his own? They stop a nobleman, who asks why he should arbitrate a dispute between two people in working clothes. The cook replies: “It’s all one. Ours is a small problem, and not hard to get a handle on. Father, give us this grace. Don’t turn your nose up on us, for the sake of the gods. Justice should always prevail everywhere. Everyone should be concerned about it. That’s a fact of life!”(author’s translation)
In the comedy, the arbitrator examines the tokens -- and he realizes that he must have fathered the infant and that his wife must have abandoned the child without telling him. Don’t worry! There’s a happy ending for all.
Frank R.
Luke 12:13-21
I know we can tell what seems “just” to us, but should we spend our time in prayer trying to make God see it our way? Should we be praying for him to make the 1% pay more taxes -- even though that may be just?
My attorney members tell me how many times they go to court for children whose fathers have died and they felt the estate was not divided fairly. In fact, why would we need lawyers if everyone tried to be fair and honest? Lawyers would be half out of work!
Do we think it would be cheaper to get God to handle our financial problems? Even if there is injustice, God is telling us not to bother him!
And then there is retirement! Of course it is a good idea to plan ahead for retirement -- it makes sense for ourselves and our families. But what Jesus is telling us is that we should not overdo it. Maybe our children would like us to go overboard so that there will be more in our wills, but let’s not hide away millions so we can run for president and have some good meals and a few drinks.
Jesus tells us many times to be ready to share our money with others who are in greater need. That will give us more reward in the end. “Whatever you have done to the least of these, you have done it unto me.”
This passage is meaningful for me at almost 90 years old! Or worse, my parents died in an auto accident at age of 60. No, they did not pile up wealth for their retirement. They left me a little, but not a fortune. I miss them and not the money!
These sayings of Jesus are meant to turn our hearts to him, and not just so we can get a reward from him. If we put him first in our lives, then we can gain a better perspective on our future. We will be more concerned about justice for others and for the needs of others.
It is sometimes so hard to tell differences in a political speech between caring more for the needs of the people or for political advantage. If candidates want to get elected, they must promise rewards for those who need help (and can vote).
When we use all our energy to increase our wealth, our fame, our success, we rarely think ahead to the possibility that we might not survive another day or week or month! We read in the paper or see on the news every day that some well-known person is dying of cancer or has perished in an accident -- or has been sentenced to prison for putting those other things first!
If your doctor tells you that you have one more week or month of life, then what will your goal be? Our greatest reward will be the one we hope to find when this life is over!
God says that if we believe in him and in his son Jesus, then we already have his reward waiting for us.
Bob O.
The picture in the scrapbook tells the story -- the parents in the picture, not much more than kids themselves, holding the hands of their little girl as she learns to walk. Though the picture is old, the memories are fresh. There was such joy and excitement. These were her first steps! Who knew the places she would go and the things she would see? The future was bright. They had big dreams for their child.
Dreams, though, can go bad. Those little hands that held on tight now pushed away. Those eyes that were so trusting now radiated anger. The little feet that took such timid first steps now hurriedly ran as fast and as far away as they could possibly go. “Rebellion,” “lost,” “not coming back” were the words that replaced “love,” “forever,” and “family.” Hearts that were once so hopeful now lay broken on the living room floor.
This kind of thing happens far too often. It’s hard to describe what the parents feel. Hurt, sadness, pain; these only begin to scratch the surface. There is a yearning for the lost one to come home.
God understands what it’s like when a child rebels and exchanges what matters for what looks or feels good. His child, Ephraim or Israel, has chosen to turn away from him. They are suffering the consequences of that choice and are hurting. Though they deserve what they are getting, God’s heart is touched. As a parent with a wayward child, God’s compassion grows warm and tender. He will not leave them to their folly. He will return them to their homes. That’s a nice picture, too, isn’t it?
Bill T.
Hosea 11:1-11
In my family of origin, anger was a forbidden emotion for children. It was okay for my dad and sometimes even okay for my mother, but the children in my family were taught that expressing anger was a bad thing. I didn’t recognize my lack of expressing anger until I was much older. Feeling anger made me cry. I would acknowledge disappointment, but not anger. Then I attended clinical pastoral education and discovered some unexpressed tension and anger in my family’s relationships. As I developed the ability to be more expressive, I took some courses on emotional intelligence. During one activity the group and its facilitators placed me in the center of a circle of people and made me stomp my feet and yell out my anger. It was a breakthrough for me. I learned that anger was an emotion, and acknowledging the anger and the feeling was important.
Luckily, God knows a lot about anger and a lot about mercy and forgiveness. For human beings this is a wonder. Sometimes we hold onto our anger, even if we express it. We hold grudges and break apart relationships with our anger. Yet God, who has every right to be angry with us, acts with steadfast love, compassion, and mercy. Maybe now that I have learned to acknowledge anger and the pain it causes, I can learn the mercy and forgiveness that God offers to me and in turn offer it to others. What about you?
Bonnie B.
Hosea 11:1-11
In this passage God, through the prophet, acknowledges that the story that began with the people called out of Egypt has not gone well. God has a just case against the people. But they are his people, and in the end his love trumps his justice! So to that end, in the final two verses of this passage God, roaring like a lion and inspiring both fear and obedience, will lead the people homeward on a second Exodus! One calls to mind The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S Lewis, in which God is seen as a lion who, the children are reminded constantly, is not tame. The fear and trembling in these verses might be a good place to start, because God’s power (not weakness) is demonstrated in this triumph of love.
Frank R.
Hosea 11:1-11
A good friend and fellow missionary has a daughter who he and his wife trained to know the Lord -- but when she became 18, she fell in love with a Muslim fellow and they married. She turned Muslim, and it devastated her folks! They did not give up, and they still love her. The only comforting thing for them is that she says she still believes in Jesus! They let her know that they still love her and that they will help her in any way they can, hoping that someday she will realize what they are doing for her and what she has given up and will turn again to the true faith.
She knows that those of her new faith are losing the war against them, so her mind is opening up -- but she is having trouble converting her husband. He has been taught that the husband is in charge. She is learning what it means to be a Muslim, and what she is supposed to give up. She studied to be a nurse and her husband had no trouble with her working in our country, but if they moved back to a Muslim country, she might find out what (like her career) she must sacrifice for this faith.
It is so frequent a problem that everyone with teenage children feels it -- those kids want to be free to do as they please.
As Abraham was lifting the knife to sacrifice Isaac, he turned to the Lord and asked, “Can’t I have my son for at least one more year?” God asks Abe, “How old is he?” When Abraham says that he is only 12, the Lord answers, “No! Next year he will be a teenager and it won’t be a sacrifice!” I can resonate with that! My wife and I have seven children. All of them have recovered from their teens. One son was an alcoholic for a while, but he has been off booze for over 10 years now and has a job helping other young people recover and give up their liquid idol.
At one point in most of our lives we have had the idols of money, girl or boy partners, fame, success, etc. As long as they don’t keep us from the most important love: the one of our Savior. If for no other reason, we give ourselves to him if we don’t want to hear God roaring like a lion to wake us up!
Bob O.
Colossians 3:1-11
Facebook provides a wonderful opportunity to stay in touch with friends and family. One of the side benefits is that it can also provide unexpected sermon illustrations.
For instance, a few weeks after the mass shooting of innocent people in Paris there was a mass killing in the United States. In both incidents the perpetrators were Muslims. In the aftermath of the killings in America, the president of a large private Christian university encouraged the school’s student body to arm themselves. He said he had always thought that more good people with concealed-carry permits could stop Muslims before they killed. Being shot by young adult Christians, he suggested, would teach them a lesson.
A self-identified evangelical Christian and Facebook friend immediately posted his agreement with this strategy. He argued that Christians needed to be ready to respond forcefully to Muslims. His understanding of the Christian faith not only permits but encourages responding to threats with violence. That is the way the world works.
This friend from high school is, of course, correct. That is the way this world works. It is not, however, the way Christians are called to live in this world. This Colossians passage is very clear that this world’s ways of thinking and doing run contrary to the life we are to live in Christ Jesus. By faith we are to see things differently. We are to conduct our lives differently, and thus we will experience life differently.
In our context, it is good to remember that Christians are called to address fear by faith, not by violent revenge.
R. Robert C.
Colossians 3:1-11
Chris Froome won his second Tour de France in 2015 -- and for his victory he got to wear the coveted yellow jersey. But he could not have won without the support of the fellow members of his riding team. On their final victory lap in Paris, Froome had his teammates wear yellow stripes on their shorts and helmets to show that they were as much a part of the victory as he was. Froome said to his teammates, “This is your yellow jersey as much as it is mine.”
Application: We read in Colossians of a church that is inclusive of all people. All in the church are teammates.
Ron L.
Colossians 3:1-11
A 2008 poll by LifeWay Research indicated that 72% of Americans believe that the Church is full of hypocrites. Little has likely changed since the time of that poll.
Paul says our lives as Christians are hidden. Martin Luther once explained what this means: “The world does not understand the Christian life and has no word of praise for it; it is hostile to the faith and cannot tolerate the fact that you believe in Christ and refuse to join hands with it in love for worldly lusts. A hidden life indeed is the Christian’s” (Complete Sermons, Vol. 4/1, pp. 227-228).
Our lives are hidden in another sense, for we continue in sin and so our holiness is not apparent: “Outwardly Christians stumble and fall from time to time. Only weakness and shame appear on the surface, revealing that Christians are sinners who do that which displeases the world. Then they are regarded as fools, as Cinderellas, as footmats for the world, as damned, impotent, and worthless people. But this does not matter. In their weakness, sin, folly, and frailty there abides inwardly and secretly a force and power unrecognizable by the world and hidden from its view, but on which for all that carries off the victory; for Christ resides in them and manifests himself to them” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 23, p. 146).
We Christians need not feel so bad about our sin -- we just should come clean about our hypocrisy, and actually celebrate “that God does not save imaginary, but real sinners” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 31, p. 63). Twentieth-century American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr reflected on why this awareness is Good News: “This means don’t be so morbid about the fact that you’re selfish; don’t deny that you are self-regarding, but work in life and hope that by grace -- this perhaps is the door to the real answer -- you will be redeemed by grace” (Justice and Mercy, p. 43).
Mark E.
Luke 12:13-21
I am a fan of the old Twilight Zone television series. Around New Year’s Eve every year, one of the cable channels runs a Twilight Zone marathon, showing every episode of the series. While I find most of them intriguing and thoughtful, a particular episode came to mind while reading this text. It’s called “The Rip Van Winkle Caper.”
In this episode four men rob a train carrying gold bars from Fort Knox to Los Angeles. One of them, a scientist, has developed a plan for them to get away with the robbery and enjoy all the gold. He has created four suspension chambers, in which these robbers can sleep for 100 years and then awaken long after their crime. The plan seems to work. After 100 years the chambers cause them to awaken. One of them, though, is nothing more than a skeleton -- his chamber was punctured by a falling rock, and he aged and died. The other three, though, are fine. As they begin to work together to move the gold, greed sets in. One attacks another, until finally there is only one left. He is clutching what he can carry of the gold in a bag. He longs for water and is nearly dead of dehydration and thirst. He continues to a highway, lugging the gold that he refuses to abandon. Finally, weak and dehydrated, he collapses. When a man in a futuristic car drives up, the remaining robber offers his last gold bar in exchange for water and a ride to the nearest town -- but he dies a few moments later.
As the driver gets back into his car to report the death to the police, he quizzically remarks to his wife, “Can you imagine that? He offered this to me as if it was really worth something.” The wife vaguely recalls that gold had indeed been valuable at some time in the distant past. The husband replies, “Sure, about a hundred years or so ago, before they found a way of manufacturing it,” and tosses the gold bar away.
Sometimes that which seems so valuable really has very little value at all. The man in the Twilight Zone episode and the rich man in Jesus’ parable learned that truth. Sadly, for both it was a lesson learned a bit too late. What do you value? Does it have eternal significance?
Bill T.
Luke 12:13-21
The longer I live and experience the world, the more I believe that greed is the root of most sin. As human beings we seem to always want more -- at least in our Western culture. We hoard belongings, we compile lists of things we want, we shop more than is healthy. We want more from our lives, so we break relationships in order to pursue others. We seek success at any cost, for with success comes fame and recognition. Years ago there was a monologue from comedian George Carlin that focused on “stuff.” He said that we had a lot of stuff, and still we bought more stuff -- so much in fact that we had to buy stuff in which to store our stuff. Then we had so many containers of stuff that we rented storage facilities so we could store our stuff, and then go out and get more stuff to replace it. I don’t know about you, but this can seem all too familiar.
Jesus tells a parable in this reading from Luke describing someone successful who had an overabundant harvest, a harvest so large that it wouldn’t fit in the storage he had. And the solution was not to share the abundance but to tear down his barns and build bigger ones. Little did the man know that his life would end that night and that the stores would go to someone else. Greed is never wise. Sharing the abundance which God provides is the better approach. Maybe we should spend some time getting rid of the excess in our closets, in our homes, and even in our souls. Focusing on God is a good thing. Let’s replace object hoarding with a strong spiritual relationship.
Bonnie B.
Luke 12:13-21
This passage begins with a demand by a stranger that Jesus arbitrate between two brothers regarding their inheritance. This might seem unreasonable at first, yet in the ancient world people willingly bypassed the courts and called upon a trusted third party to settle their disputes.
This is illustrated in the fragments of a comedy, The Arbitrants, written by Menander three centuries before. (Menander is the writer quoted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:33 -- “Bad company ruins good morals.”)
In the play a slave and a cook are arguing about who owns some valuable tokens that belonged to an abandoned baby left to die on a hillside -- the one who found the baby or the one who incurs expenses because he adopted the baby to raise as his own? They stop a nobleman, who asks why he should arbitrate a dispute between two people in working clothes. The cook replies: “It’s all one. Ours is a small problem, and not hard to get a handle on. Father, give us this grace. Don’t turn your nose up on us, for the sake of the gods. Justice should always prevail everywhere. Everyone should be concerned about it. That’s a fact of life!”(author’s translation)
In the comedy, the arbitrator examines the tokens -- and he realizes that he must have fathered the infant and that his wife must have abandoned the child without telling him. Don’t worry! There’s a happy ending for all.
Frank R.
Luke 12:13-21
I know we can tell what seems “just” to us, but should we spend our time in prayer trying to make God see it our way? Should we be praying for him to make the 1% pay more taxes -- even though that may be just?
My attorney members tell me how many times they go to court for children whose fathers have died and they felt the estate was not divided fairly. In fact, why would we need lawyers if everyone tried to be fair and honest? Lawyers would be half out of work!
Do we think it would be cheaper to get God to handle our financial problems? Even if there is injustice, God is telling us not to bother him!
And then there is retirement! Of course it is a good idea to plan ahead for retirement -- it makes sense for ourselves and our families. But what Jesus is telling us is that we should not overdo it. Maybe our children would like us to go overboard so that there will be more in our wills, but let’s not hide away millions so we can run for president and have some good meals and a few drinks.
Jesus tells us many times to be ready to share our money with others who are in greater need. That will give us more reward in the end. “Whatever you have done to the least of these, you have done it unto me.”
This passage is meaningful for me at almost 90 years old! Or worse, my parents died in an auto accident at age of 60. No, they did not pile up wealth for their retirement. They left me a little, but not a fortune. I miss them and not the money!
These sayings of Jesus are meant to turn our hearts to him, and not just so we can get a reward from him. If we put him first in our lives, then we can gain a better perspective on our future. We will be more concerned about justice for others and for the needs of others.
It is sometimes so hard to tell differences in a political speech between caring more for the needs of the people or for political advantage. If candidates want to get elected, they must promise rewards for those who need help (and can vote).
When we use all our energy to increase our wealth, our fame, our success, we rarely think ahead to the possibility that we might not survive another day or week or month! We read in the paper or see on the news every day that some well-known person is dying of cancer or has perished in an accident -- or has been sentenced to prison for putting those other things first!
If your doctor tells you that you have one more week or month of life, then what will your goal be? Our greatest reward will be the one we hope to find when this life is over!
God says that if we believe in him and in his son Jesus, then we already have his reward waiting for us.
Bob O.
